Down 3-0 12 minutes into the second period of play against Brown University on Friday night, the Engineers took their adversary’s fortune with a grain of salt when they fought back to claim a 4-3 advantage by the end of third period. Their lead would go unanswered by the Bears for the remainder of the game, spelling another win for the team. However, in their game against Yale the following day, the Bulldogs unleashed a similar fury on Rensselaer, resulting in another 3-0 deficit; but unlike before, the Engineers were unable to abate their disadvantage, ultimately losing 0-3. Going into this weekend against St. Lawrence University and Clarkson University, the Engineers stand at 14-8-6 overall and 6-2-6 in Liberty League. Brown fell to 4-13-3, 2-10-2 and Yale improved to 12-5-4, 7-4-3.

Right off the bat on Friday, at 2:39 into the first period, Josh McArdle sent the first of three goals past senior goaltender Jason Kasdorf. Though no scoring persisted until the following period, once the intermission had ended, the Bears picked up right where they had left off with a power play tip-in at 5:45 by Tommy Marchin to set up a 2-0 advantage. Alex Brink made the third shot at 12:00 after his teammate’s attempt was blocked by Kasdorf.

As the end of the second period approached, RPI began making its impression on Brown with a pair of power play shots by sophomore Viktor Liljegren at 14:21 and sophomore Jared Wilson at 18:26. Heading into the third period, the Bears maintained a narrow 3-2 lead, if only for a few minutes of play. Liljegren came in for the tie at 7:59 and sophomore Lou Nanne scored the Engineer’s fourth goal at 8:50, giving his team custody of the lead that would morph into a 4-3 win. Brown tried to recapture the lead, especially near the end of the third period, pulling goalie Tim Ernst and focusing on the offensive, but they made no progress.

Ranked 16th in the nation on the eve of their matchup against 11th ranked-Yale, Rensselaer lost for the first time in six games before a completely packed audience at Ingalls Rink. With the majority of the fans on their side, the Bulldogs knocked down the Engineers by 6:55 of the final period.

The first goal of the evening was sent down the ice from the left circle by Rob O’Gara. Later in the second period, for his second collegiate goal, Anthony Walsh slammed the puck to earn Yale another point. No goals were made during the second period, despite a total attempt of 47 shots. To cinch the deal, Cody Learned swept the puck past Kasdorf at 6:55 into the third period, scoring the third point for the Bulldogs and the final one of the night.

The St. Lawrence University Saints will visit the Engineers for a game at 7 pm on Friday in the Houston Field House, and Saturday marks the 39th Annual Big Red Freakout game against Clarkson University, same bat time, same bat channel.